Fit Tip Friday: Alex Morgan

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At 23 years old, we spent most of our time stressing about our future career, dating losers, and training ourselves to get up before noon.

That’s why we were so impressed that at 23, U.S. Soccer star and Olympic Gold medalist Alex Morgan not only finds time to play on a national team and the Portland Thorns (a part of the New Women’s Professional League), she does more! The Degree spokeswoman has recently taken up paddleboarding in her “spare” time, and sat down to chat with us about her new venture.

When did you take up paddleboarding?
I first started paddleboarding in Hawaii while I was vacationing, in Wailea, in Maui…I think that I loved it so much because it’s so different from soccer. Soccer is a team sport. This is just you, and the paddle…and the water. It’s good to just get a clear mind, take my cleats off for a day, get off the soccer field, and get a different type of workout that works out your different muscles.

How often do you paddleboard? Do you fit it around your schedule, or do you make it a priority?
Well I’ve been playing soccer my whole life and professionally for three years. So I haven’t had a break more than four days in three years. But I try to get out there every week when I can…even if it’s a little cold, which, y’know, it’s not that cold really, just put on a wetsuit, and go out there and it’s a great way to get a different type of workout in. I’ve been traveling non-stop, and that’s why I kinda needed to pick something else up so I could kind of relight that passion of soccer. It’s kinda like when you get away from it for a week or two you miss it even that much more and that’s what it was for me.

When you started paddleboarding, which muscles did you use that were different from soccer? Were you really sore in any place?
Well you can’t really use your hands or your arms with soccer (except for kinda pushing off of other players!), so I found that definitely my triceps, my forearms from carrying the paddleboard were sore. And I’d say the next day my core was actually really sore. I think with soccer you’re so used to the movements that your body is used to that. And when you’re sore you don’t actually feel it because you’ve been doing this your whole life. so with paddleboarding the next day I was getting up from bed and I was like “Oh my God!”

Do you find that it’s a good stress reliever for you too?
I think the fact that I’ve always played team sports, even when I was younger it was softball, volleyball, basketball, I always had a role on a team. So now having it be you and you’re the only factor, and it’s your attitude going out there, and it’s what you want to get out of the day…And it kind of taught me a lot about who I was and what type of person I was alone because I’m not alone that often.

What’s the biggest thing you want girls our age or even older or younger to take away from the Do More Campaign?
I just want girls and women to be inspired to do more, and do more of what they love. And to find time for that. I feel like I’m so busy, I mean like I’m traveling a lot but I still need to find time to clear my mind and to do something I love. And so that’s just what I want to get out of this and I want women to realize that you can be a little selfish sometimes. They can take “them time” I can take “me time” sometimes.

We imagine with soccer and paddleboarding, you probably don’t need to do any other workouts, but do you? You probably never need to go to the gym, right?
No, I go to the gym a lot! I lift two to three times a week. And I love spin classes as well. And I love running on the Strand. Being in Manhattan Beach last year, you have the beach right there, so you might as well get out there.

xx, The FabFitFun Team

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